*Our Top Picks:

Volcanos National Park · Nyungwe National Park · Lake Kivu

EXPERIENCES IN RWANDA

Volcanos National Park

Also known as Parc National des Volcans, this home to various troops of mountain gorilla is one of Africa’s epic national parks, made famous by the film Gorillas in the Mist, and offering access to more than half of the world’s mountain gorillas. Rwanda was the first country to start habituating the mountain gorillas in the park, to make it easier for guides and guests to find them.Travellers booked to visit the gorillas are accompanied on their hike by various guides, to make the traveller feel safe. It is a beautiful, memorable experience.

Nyungwe National Park

Nyungwe is possibly the best chimpanzee-trekking destination on earth. This less-visited natural treasure in southwest Rwanda, partly bordering Burundi and close to the DR Congo, cannot be missed. Opened in 2004, Nyungwe is home to (arguably) the largest tract of afro-montane forest in Africa, home to chimpanzees, owl-faced and colobus monkeys - altogether about 1000 animal (13 of them primate) and bird species, many endemics. The variety of landscapes to be found are impressive for a forest - with marshland, bamboo thicket and open woodland all found within the park. A highlight is the Canopy Walkway, a high suspension bridge with views over the valley and surrounding forests, part of the Igishigishigi Trail. Of interest to nature lovers, will be the park’s 1068 plant species, 200 of those being trees, and over 248 species of orchid.

Lake Kivu

One of Africa’s Great Lakes, and Rwanda’s largest, Lake Kivu offers sandy beaches for locals and hotel leisure-seekers, its predator-free waters regarded as excellent for boat cruises, swimming, water sports, and crucial for villagers fishing for sustenance. In fact, Kivu is Rwanda’s western border with the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). A drive through and between the towns that dot the lake’s shore reveal mountains and hills steeped in terraced tea plantations.